Something like that
by Ninja-glomped
Summary: A bloody memory. An unsolved murder. Slowly the pieces fall together.
1. Rough sketches

-1**Disclaimers: I do not own FMA, but I forget the author that does…**

**Summary/author's note: Just a little background here and such. Just to let you know, this might be a long story so yeah…Oh yes, a bit OOC. **

_**Hold her hand one last time, while it's still warm,**_

_**Whisper that you love her, before she goes away,**_

_**Can't you tell that she's fading?**_

_**It's already too late now.**_

"Are you sure he's okay colonel?" Riza glanced at the quivering blonde who sat curled up in the corner. Unsure, Roy stood there, silent, arms crossed across his chest. "It depends, Riza. None of us knows what happened…" he paused, not wanting to say what was to come next. Seeing how uncomfortable he was, Riza nodded, letting the subject drop for the time being. "The doctor said that it was just shock," she said, her voice as quiet as a whisper. The colonel curled his fist in anger, "Who cares what the doctor says! Do you recall all the times he said a patient would be fine and then they would die?!" She took a step back, knowing that Roy could get violent when enraged. "We'll have to hope sir. It's the _only _thing we have."

He watched as she turned and walked down the hallway, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor. Click. Click. The bloody image came back into his mind. Click. Click. Mutated bodies scattered across the cold stone ground. Click. The two Elric brothers, laying still among the massacred mess. The colonel slammed his fist against the wall, the friction causing his glove to send of small sparks. He stared at the wall. "Dammit, dammit, dammit." He was angry for losing his temper, for not being able to protect everyone. Not being able to protect _Edward_.

It was only a few weeks ago when the full metal alchemist was perfectly fine. A bit tired and ill-tempered, yes, but no harm done to his physical health. He tried to shove back the memories, where he would never see them again, but they resisted.

_Roy Mustang neatly stacked the papers to one side of his desk, making sure that they wouldn't tip over. There was a sharp knock on the door and in came the short fused called Edward. "Ah, as always, not waiting for your superior to invite you in." The other's golden eyes turned dark, "If I waited every time, I'll be old by then." The older man smirked and then pretended to be sad. "Yes, you would, but unfortunately, you'll never get any higher." Ah, there we go. Fire to the fuse. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT EVEN ANTS LOOK DOWN UPON HIM!!" Ed yelled, rolling up his sleeves to punch Mustang. Roy smirked again. "Oh, I would tell you, but you'll probably won't be able to see him since he's so puny." "WELL-WELL…!" he stuttered. _

_The obsidian haired man laughed and then turned grim. "Now with that aside, I have some important news for you." He grabbed a vanilla file and flipped through the pages. "Here, take a look at these," he handed Ed a few pictures. Roy watched with a stone face as he saw the alchemist's face turn to pure horror. He grimaced because he did not want the teen to see such things, but it was his job to assign him missions, no matter how dangerous. An awkward moment of silence passed. _

_"I understand if you don't want to take the job." Ed shook his head, "No, I'll do it." His voice was hushed and forced. Inside, Roy felt a small pang of sympathy for the boy. His face softened and he gave him a soft pat on the shoulder. "You just try your best full metal. I know you can do it." The boy blinked, surprised at the sudden show of emotion. Yes, the colonel did show emotions, but he would only smirk and scold. The sympathy from the older male shocked him and caused him to take a step back. Roy recoiled his hand. 'Damn. I shouldn't have done that.' Those golden eyes that he always loved stared at him with confusion. "Good bye Colonel." he headed towards the door. "Yes, good bye and good luck." Roy whispered. _

Only a few days after that meeting did he find the Elric brothers in the horrid scene. As he picked up the blonde's limp body he couldn't help, but think that it was his fault. His fault for assigning the teen with such a dangerous job. Now he was staring out the window in his bedroom, watching the rain fall down. He glanced from the corner of his eye to make sure Ed was still there on his bed. He was. The alchemist was curled up comfortably on his navy linens, breathing softly. His golden hair glowed faintly from the moonlight, giving off a subtle golden glow. Roy had asked permission to keep Ed at his house. To keep an extra eye on him, he said. However, his superior knew the real reason and took pity on him. Just this once, he replied.

Roy walked over to his lover and stroked his cheek gently, careful not to wake him. "Oh Ed, it was all my fault." he leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Now I'll make sure you'll come back to us," he swore to himself, to Ed. The sound of crashing lightning echoed throughout the house. Roy went over to the couch and sat there, watching the other sleep.

_**Did we have to say adieu?**_

_**Je t'aime, je t'adore**_

_**Ne pas amore, amore. **_

"Roy, you okay?" Light green eyes examined the lump before him. Roy looked up to see his friend Hughes standing before him. "Hmm…oh, yeah," he yawned. He had stayed up all night, watching Ed, making sure the boy wasn't going anywhere without him knowing it. Hughes was not satisfied with his answer. "Something's up. You've been spacing out lately." Roy glared at his friend, "Nothing's wrong." "Then what have I been saying the past few minutes?" He growled, "Your daughter?" Hughes shook his head, frowning. "No, I've been telling you about Scar's past victims. Are you sure you're all right?" The colonel sighed and got up, staring out his window. "Define all right by your terms," he mumbled. His friend just sighed sadly and left.

__

Edward Elric woke up, startled by his nightmare. His golden eyes flicked from each corner to another, examining his surroundings. "Where am I?" his pulled his hand through his blond hair. "Hey, where are you Al-" he paused, the horrible memories flooding back to him. "Al…" Ed cupped his face with his hands, blocking out the soft moonlight streaming in from outside. "Oh Al, I'm sorry, it's all my fault." He felt his body tremble, but refused to cry. _Knock Knock. _Edward turned towards the door, frightened by the sudden noise. He kept still, trying not to make a sound. "Ed, are you awake?" It was Roy's voice. Curious, he got up, creeping like a cat and opened the door a peek. Obsidian met gold. Ed thought he heard Roy gasp, but dismissed the thought. "R-Roy?" he asked cautiously. For a moment Roy's face softened. "Ed, I-" he blinked, and covered his face with the usual mask, "Glad to see that you woke up Fullmetal." The blonde nodded, "Yeah."

An uncomfortable silence elapsed between the two, until Edward spoke up. "C-Colonel?" "Yeah." "How did I get here?" He saw Roy frown. "We found you in the building, bloody and nearly dead." he paused. "I'm sorry Ed, but your brother…he's-" "He's dead isn't he?" The colonel looked up with a surprised expression. "No, he's just badly wounded. Our doctors are trying their best to help him." Deep inside, Ed felt a wave of relief rush through him. "Oh," he said simply. Roy looked at the younger boy with concern. "But the main question is, are _you _alright?" Ed was taken aback by this question. He stood there blinking, trying to see if he was. "Yes, I am," he muttered, knowing that physically he was, but spiritually he wasn't. He felt Roy's firm grip on his shoulder. "Ed, you're not telling me something."

_'How true you are colonel.' _Ed backed off. "No, I'm telling you the truth, I'm okay." He looked up to see that the colonel had a look of hurt etched across his face. "Okay, I understand. If you want to talk about it, then feel free to tell me." The blonde stared at Roy, curious at the sudden sympathy. "Okay." Mustang gestured towards the hallway, "I've set up dinner if you want some." His stomach growled and Ed blushed. "I guess you do," the other smirked. "Shut up," Ed replied lamely.

_**Linger in the bleached bedroom,**_

_**Watch as her heartbeat goes down,**_

_**I will stand right beside you,**_

_**Watching your every move.**_

"This pasta tastes weird!" Ed complained. "Just shut up and eat, brat," Roy scowled as he reached for the bread bowl. "How can I? It tastes funny." Edward smirked, knowing that this was driving the colonel mad. He did like the pasta though.

"If you hate it so much, then why don't you cook for yourself?" Roy reached towards Ed's plate so that he could chuck it into the trash. "Hey!" he whacked Mustang's hand away. "I never said I hated it! I just said it tasted weird." Ed shoved some in his mouth. "Sheee?" The older man frowned, "You have no courtesy in you at all Fullmetal." The blonde scoffed and then coughed violently. "Ha! That's exactly what you deserved!"

A piece of buttered bread landed itself on Roy's head.

"YOU FREAKING SHRIMP! IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO FIND THAT BRAND OF BREAD!" "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHRIMP?! AND PLUS IT'S JUST BREAD!!" "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU WILL STUFF ANYTHING EDIBLE IN YOUR MOUTH." Edward shoved more pasta in his mouth, steaming with rage. The colonel just sat there, watching the blonde eat. Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Ed glanced up to see that Roy was watching him. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he looked back at his plate. "Ed." That one simple word sent shivers down his spine. _'Uh-oh. Something's coming up.' _"Ed, look at me," Roy demanded. Reluctantly, Ed did and was face-to-face with an intense stare. "Wh-what?" he shifted about. "I'm going to ask you something and I want you to tell me the truth," Mustang said simply. The other alchemist nodded. "What happened in the building?" Edward took in a deep breathe. "Ed, answer me," Roy demanded again. "N-nothing happened that you need to know," Elric muttered.

The colonel slammed his hand on the table. "Dammit Ed. If it wasn't so important, then why were Al and you all bloody and beat up?"

He looked down at his quaking hands, "I'm telling you, nothing important happened! We just got in a bad fight!" He didn't realize that his voice was rising.

Roy sat down and started massaging his hand that he had slammed. "Okay Ed, calm down," he said coolly. "Don't you tell me what to do!" "I'm just saying that if you don't shut up, I'll make you." Ed sat down and played around with his meat balls. "Nothing happened," he mumbled. "Okay, let's just leave it at that. I never said anything, hmm?" The blonde nodded. _'There's something that he obviously doesn't want to say,' _Roy thought to himself as he took a sip out of his glass.

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Well, that was the first chapter of this story. What do you think? Please review and no flamers. Oh yes, the lyrics were from "Alongside her" a song that I'm still revising. (Of course there's more, but still) The saying "Je t'aime, Je t'adore, ne pas amore, amore" means "I like you (or love), I adore you, no love no love."


	2. Drifting

-1**Disclaimers: I do not own FMA. **

**Summary: pokes nothing _too _bad, I promise **

**To the reviewers:**

**: Ah! I'm sorry! I somehow failed to notice that…Anyways, please excuse my atrocious grammar. My exams started when I wrote this story. Thanks for the reminder. tries to fix it**

_**Walking around with all their guarded expressions,**_

_**Put on your mask and don't say a word,**_

_**Let me know about your genetic code, oh no,**_

_**Oh no no no no**_

"Ed, wake up!" Roy shook the teen. "Don't snooze on your first day of coming back!"

Edward woke up, grouchy, "Why'd you wake me up?!"

"If I didn't, then you'll be late and whine the whole day about how your morning was so horrible," the colonel simply replied.

Edward glanced at the alarm clock that stood on the desk beside him.

**9:00 A.M.**

"Oh shit!" he leaped off the bed and ran into the bathroom. Roy smirked, glad to see the other was up and running like his usual self, unlike yesterday.

Edward threw on his usual black shirt and pants and grabbed the red cloak as he rushed out the door. "Stupid colonel, can't even wake me up in time!" he mumbled as he headed towards the large building.

"Fullmetal! You're late!" Riza aimed her gun.

He jumped at the sudden appearance of Riza. "Don't shoot me! Shoot the stupid colonel for not setting my alarm for me!" Edward said.

"That is not a reason!"

"There there Riza, no need to get so violent," Roy came walking in smoothly, as if he had been there the whole time. His onyx eyes observed the fuming boy and tried not to chuckle. "The shrimp had a rough night yesterday, so I _allowed _him to sleep in," he said matter-of-factly.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT-" a hand silenced him by placing itself on his mouth. He heard Roy say good-bye to Riza and felt him drag him over to Roy's office. "What the hell do you think you were doing?!" Edward slammed his auto-mail hand on the desk.

"Quiet FullMetal. I'm trying to think," Roy massaged his temples, his eyes focused on the floor below him.

Edward looked at Roy with a curious expression. The colonel looked worried about something and he had never seen him like this before. Well…except for _yesterday_. "Are you okay Colonel?" he asked quietly.

The colonel glanced up at Ed with a pained look in his eyes, but it quickly went away. Roy had never told anyone about his problems, not even his best friend Hughes. He definitely wasn't going to say anything to Ed, not now, not ever. "No, nothing, just a bit tired," he replied hesitantly. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ed nod, letting him know that the boy wasn't going to ask any more questions about what he was thinking.

"Do you have another assignment for me Colonel?" the Fullmetal inquired.

Roy sighed and shook his head, "You just recovered a while ago and you want another mission?"

"Exactly, a _while _ago. That's _enough _time for me to heal," Edward argued.

Knowing that the blonde wasn't going to let it go, Roy shook his head. "Fine, your mission is to take care of your brother."

There was a strange glint in Ed's golden eyes, but Roy didn't notice it.

"Is that all?" Edward asked, his gaze directed at the floor.

"Yes, that is all. Do you think you can handle that Fullmetal?" Roy smirked. He expected the other to start babbling how he wasn't a kid and all sorts, but he didn't expect him to glare at him with eyes that contained strong hatred and resentment. The last thing he saw of Edward before he stormed out the room was the back of his dark red cloak.

"_**Here I stand, helpless and left for dead…" (Breaking Benjamin: Dance with the Devil)**_

"Al, are you alive?"

Alphonse opened his eyes and stared at the bleached white ceiling above him. He didn't know where he was and why he was there. Finding the light too bright, Alphonse lifted his hand to block out the light and flinched when he felt a shock go through his right arm. Oh yeah, that was it. He wasn't made of metal anymore. So that's why he was here. Because of _it_.

"Al? Helloo?"

He blinked and turned his head to see Edward sitting beside him. "Oh hey bro," he greeted quietly before he started choking.

"Hey! Whoa!"

Al felt his brother lift him up and gently pat him on the back. "Thanks, I'm good," he managed to say after his coughing subsided.

Edward looked at his brother with concern. He didn't know if the younger Elric would be able to heal, since he was so used to being in a suit of metal. "Are you sure you're okay? Are you used to _where _you are _now_?" Ed asked.

Al blinked and stared at his brother. "What do you mean 'are you used to where you are now'?" he questioned.

"I mean are you okay in that body? You've been living in a suit of armor for several years. Isn't it weird having your soul moved to some other object?" Edward asked, not knowing how to phrase his question.

"I still don't get what you're saying."

"Never mind. It's nothing."

An awkward moment of silence passed by as Alphonse watched the ceiling once again. He felt Ed's golden eyes on him and didn't feel comfortable with them there. "Ed, can you stop staring at me?"

Edward frowned. "Why? I'm just trying to see if there's something wrong with you," he said.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"You don't look like it."

"What do you mean I don't look like it?"

"Well, your skin's all pale, you're skinny as hell and oh yeah, you're hooked to a bunch of machines that are trying to keep you alive."

Al turned so that he faced the wall opposite of his brother, exposing his back to him. "I said I'm fine, Ed," he sniffed.

Edward frowned as he gazed at Alphonse's back. "If something's wrong you can tell me, ya know," he whispered. His younger sibling was acting stranger, _really _strange. However, he thought that it was because he wasn't used to being in a normal body instead of a metal one. "Well…I'm going to go now," he said plainly.

"Fine."

Ed left the room quietly. He felt as if he didn't know his brother anymore. As if Alphonse was someone else. _'Maybe it's because of what happened last time,' _he noted to himself. _'Yeah, that's probably it.'_

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Blah, sorry if this chapter sucked. I don't know why, but I had this biggest author's block ever...(you can blame my English teacher with her freakin' random essays.) Please review either way and no flamers. Thanks!


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